Some of the people in this market segment are merely military cosplayers and keyboard warriors who want to act cool and nothing further. But there are the true militants, those who see the variety of full metal jacket, hollow-points, hydra-shoks, fluted rounds, segmented rounds, and fragmenting rounds, and hoard each for the variety of tactical situations they see coming.
Those who traverse the booths featuring body armor, night-vision optics, tactical vests, handguns, assault-style rifles, bullpups, and .50 caliber sniper rifles see all of it as essential provisions for what will transpire. Those who fervently believe the last election was stolen, and that voting from the rooftops is the only option left. Those who listen to Abbott and Trump rant about inner cities, courthouses, leftist students, and asylum seekers, and hear a target list. Those who heard “Stand back and stand by” in 2020 as orders.
It doesn’t take many. Even if only 1% of those in attendance held this worldview (which would be a considerable underestimate based on what I saw), that would mean anywhere from 500-700 of the people in attendance (whether one believes the NRA’s attendance estimate of 72,000, or a more likely 50,000). That’s 500-700 high casualty events waiting to happen.
And the folks with these beliefs would likely be underrepresented at the NRA convention, given that in many pro-gun circles the organization is seen as corrupt liberal sell-outs.
Mentions National Rifle Association
in Armed with Reason